Alabama’s Kirby Smart makes $1.35 million per year and, at least for now, is the second-highest-paid defensive coordinator in the state.

How is that possible?

This is how: The price for good defense in college football is skyrocketing, especially in this era of offense being played at breakneck pace and 57 FBS teams averaging more than 30 points per game this season.

It’s the reason Auburn went out and made one of Smart’s best friends, former Florida coach Will Muschamp, the highest-paid coordinator (offense or defense) in college football. Muschamp’s blockbuster deal will pay him in excess of $1.6 million per year, which according to USA Today’s recent study, is more than at least 60 FBS head coaches earned this season.

That’s some serious dough to be paying a coordinator, but Auburn is serious about establishing the kind of identity on defense that it has on offense under Gus Malzahn.

What’s more, there’s also the business of keeping up with Alabama, which outgunned Auburn 55-44 a few weeks ago in the Iron Bowl, sending the Tigers to their fourth loss. In all four of those losses this season, Auburn gave up at least 34 points.

Less than 24 hours after the loss to Alabama, Malzahn fired veteran defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson, who has a pretty spiffy résumé of his own. But Auburn struggled to stop people most of the season, and even though the Tigers played for the national championship a year ago, Malzahn felt like he had to make a move on defense.

It was already a foregone conclusion that Muschamp was going to be one of the hottest free agents out there after getting the boot at Florida with two games remaining in the regular season, which made Malzahn’s decision to part ways with Johnson only that much easier.

South Carolina and Texas A&M had also set their sights on Muschamp, who had the luxury of sitting back and seeing how everything played out. He walked away from Florida with a $6 million parting gift and his reputation as one of the top defensive minds in the game fully intact.

Few defensive coaches around the country are more respected than Muschamp, who runs the same 3-4 defense Alabama does under Nick Saban and Smart and has a keen eye for the kind of player he’s looking for in his scheme.

Muschamp’s problems at Florida were on offense. The Gators were a load on defense every year he was there. In fact, they’re the only team in the SEC to finish in the top 10 nationally in total defense each of the past four seasons. They allowed just 4.45 yards per play this season; only four teams in the country were better (Clemson, Penn State, Stanford and UCF).

The Gators gave up 21.2 points per game this season, which was their highest average under Muschamp.

His true value goes a lot a deeper than numbers, though. His defenses play with a passion and a bloody-your-nose mindset that are infectious, and it also doesn’t hurt that he knows Alabama’s defensive scheme inside and out.

Saban has said the two guys who know how to run his defense exactly the way he wants it run are Smart and Muschamp.

The challenge for Muschamp will be incorporating his style of defense into Malzahn’s hurry-up, no-huddle system on offense. As a rule, the two don’t always go together, and one of the tricky parts is being able to find the right balance on the practice field, where, as a defensive coach, you feel like you’re able to be physical enough to keep your edge.

One of the reasons Muschamp was comfortable with signing on as Malzahn’s defensive coordinator was that Malzahn, for all the talk about his being a spread coach, believes deeply in running the ball. The Tigers are not one of these spread teams that’s going to throw it on every down.

It’s an offensive world right now in college football. Every game is on television, and the people who write the checks love points and love being entertained.

Most of the marquee head-coaching jobs are going to offensive guys right now. That’s no coincidence.

But it’s also no coincidence that the teams winning national championships are also playing championship defense. Only one of the past 10 BCS national champions (Auburn in 2010) has finished outside of the top 10 nationally in total defense.

The game’s changing, no doubt, but not to the point where defensive coaches of Muschamp’s ilk are devalued.

As Auburn showed us Friday night, people are still willing to pay top dollar to get them.

TAMPA, Fla. — The Florida State Seminoles have been on a tear. The success extends from the field, where the Seminoles have won 24 straight games and a national championship and have the reigning Heisman Trophy winner leading their potent offense, to recruiting, where they continue to stockpile top prospects.

"He possibly could continue to push through the season but we felt like at his young age to go ahead and get it fixed and move forward," Muschamp said. "He's a guy who certainly was going to help on special teams and at corner.

"He's going to be an outstanding player. I'm disappointed for him but we have to move forward."

Jackson, who is now likely to redshirt this season, was one of four true freshmen corners to play as a reserve and on special teams in Florida's season opener last Saturday. He was the No. 11-ranked athlete in the Class of 2014 and was No. 79 overall in the ESPN 300.

Anyone who has spent a summer in Florida can testify to the amount of rain that typically falls, and the Gators are used to playing their share of bad weather games. Here are the top five rain-soaked contests in recent UF history.

1. At Tennessee, Sept. 19, 1992:The first season after the SEC was split into two divisions saw Florida and Tennessee become annual foes and permanent rivals. A 45-minute monsoon struck Knoxville in the second half of a game that went from a 17-7 Volunteers' lead to a 31-7 rout. The downpour turned the artificial turf at Neyland Stadium into a giant slip n' slide, giving the Gators' pass-happy offense no chance at a comeback. Tennessee took full advantage of the conditions with a running game that featured James "Little Man" Stewart and Charlie Garner. On the other side of the ball, UF quarterback Shane Matthews was relentlessly pounded by Vols DE Todd Kelly and LB Ben Talley. Beating the No. 4 Gators, 31-14, was a huge upset for No. 14 UT, and it went a long way in helping interim coach Phil Fulmer get hired as Johnny Majors' replacement.

2. Georgia, Oct. 30, 1993: The city of Jacksonville, Florida, was in contention for an NFL expansion franchise but didn't put its best foot forward when heavy rains left the area surrounding the downtown stadium under about a foot of standing water. The field was not in much better shape, as No. 10 Florida went back and forth with unranked Georgia. Unable to grip the ball in the unrelenting rain, Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel was replaced by Terry Dean, who led the Gators to a 33-26 lead. In the final two minutes of the game, quarterback Eric Zeier marched Georgia down the field and threw what appeared to be the game-tying touchdown. But officials said UF cornerback Anthone Lott had called timeout and nullified the play. Florida withstood two more pass attempts by Zeier and hung on for the win.

3. Tennessee, Sept. 16, 1995:By the mid-90s, the UF-UT rivalry had become an annual early season glamour game. This one was no exception, matching Wuerffel and the No. 4 Gators against Peyton Manning and his No. 8 Vols. Tennessee had two 16-point leads in the first half, thanks to Manning and receivers Marcus Nash and Joey Kent. The Gators swung momentum in their favor and took the lead in the second half. Then skies opened up, as most of the fourth quarter was played in a non-stop deluge. When it was over, Florida had scored 48 straight points in a 62-37 win, and Wuerffel had thrown an SEC-record six TD passes.

4. Western Kentucky, Sept. 1, 2007: Before Saturday night, the last game in Florida football history that was rained out was the season opener after the Gators won the 2006 BCS national championship game. Taking over as UF's starting quarterback, Tim Tebow made a statement with 300 yards and three touchdowns passing and one rushing TD in Florida's easy 49-3 victory. The Gators' final play before lightning halted the game in the fourth quarter was a 4-yard touchdown run by a backup quarterback named Cam Newton with 8:23 remaining.

5. At Florida State, Nov. 29, 2008: It had rained all day in Tallahassee, Florida, leaving the field a wet, slippery mess with pools of water in both end zones. The indelible image from this game was of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow covered in the Seminoles' garnet paint after diving into the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. When Tebow got up and celebrated, his white jersey and face were stained with what looked like blood. The No. 2 Gators won 45-15 on their way to a second national championship in three seasons.

Mike Ehrmann/Getty ImagesFlorida running back Matt Jones has learned to embrace last season's setbacks and is hitting the field with renewed vigor.

Then a viral infection cost him all of preseason camp. Not long after he came back, he was out again -- this time for the season -- with torn cartilage in his knee.

"It was just like a roller coaster ride," Jones said. "You go up, you go down and you just never come back up. It was like one of those type of rides. Definitely not a good one.

"I got sick. I was in the hospital for eight days. I played three games. Going out in the LSU game and getting hurt in the first couple of plays. I mean, it was all just bad news last year."

Everyone -- coach Will Muschamp, his assistants and the players -- saw the dismay in Jones after the knee injury. A normally ebullient kid was "way down."

"He really struggled early on with it when it first happened," Muschamp said.

After the knee injury, the first three games that Jones was out -- against Missouri, Georgia and Vanderbilt -- were particularly hard.

With roommate Brian Poole, a junior defensive back, on the road with the team, Jones was alone in their off-campus apartment. He couldn't put pressure on his leg for six weeks, which made it difficult to take care of himself and do the simplest things.

Just getting around the apartment was a grueling ordeal, so Jones crutched over to the kitchen to get all the meals, drinks and snacks he needed to watch the entire football game. Then he had to sit through something just as painful -- loss after loss after loss.

"It was definitely hard just seeing my team play, knowing I couldn't be out there contributing to the team," he said. "I couldn't do anything about it. Absolutely nothing.

"It was hard for me just sitting back on my bed, having to watch the game on TV because I can't crutch out there. It was just bad, man."

It was a dark time for the Gators and a dark time for Jones, who most often chose to deal with the pain, the losses and the helplessness on his own.

FLORIDA RECRUITING

"You don't want to call someone out of their way to help you," Jones said, "so I just dealt with it myself."

He did a lot of thinking, a lot of praying, a lot of reflecting on life. He got humble. When he got back on the field, Jones' new attitude was one of appreciation.

"I just learned to go every play hard," He said. "I know that one play could knock your whole career off."

Jones now says he's glad he went through it all, and he knows exactly how his problems in 2013 went from bad to worse. He didn't have his strength back after the infection and gave in to his eagerness to play.

"It happened for a reason, and I look back at it now as motivation," he said. "I definitely learned from it. I learned the hard way that you've got to wait until you're 100 percent to get on the field.

"You've got to come back when you're 110 percent sometimes."

After missing the spring, Jones attacked Florida's preseason camp with renewed vigor. He relished every run, every broken tackle, every hit. Especially the hits. Those made him smile and reflect on how far he's come.

"I feel good right now," he said. "I'm up to 235 [pounds]. I feel fast. I feel stronger.

Fowler emerged as a sophomore in 2013 and rode a wave of offseason momentum into a dominating spring. Much of the credit, he says, goes to left tackle D.J. Humphries and right tackle Chaz Green, whom he calls two of the best linemen in the SEC.

"This spring, me, D.J. and Chaz, we really got each other better," he said. "We went at it. We just competed the whole spring. I feel like I’m a better player. I can feel it because of them helping me, and I know they can feel it the same way."

John Korduner/Icon SMIChaz Green, who missed all of last season after having labrum surgery, has stood out as a leader this spring.

Confidence abounds as Florida heads into its preseason camp, which opened on Monday. And while the entire team is bolstered by a general return to good health after injuries devastated the roster last fall, the offensive line might be the unit most likely to rebound.

Three of the Gators' starters -- including both tackles -- missed significant time in 2013, and Fowler says it cost the team dearly.

"Chaz was having a great camp [in 2013]," Fowler said. "He just had that setback, and it was like a freakish accident, too.

"That happened, and then we had D.J. -- he’s kind of like the anchorman who leads everybody -- so when he went down, things kind of went down the drain from there."

Green missed the entire season with a torn labrum suffered in late August, while Humphries missed the final five games with a sprained MCL. Both positions were revolving doors, with Tyler Moore, Max Garcia, Trenton Brown and Kyle Koehne also seeing time at left or right tackle.

Florida tried seven starting combinations on the offensive line last season, and the effects were startling.

Never a great pass-blocking team in recent years, the Gators regressed in their bread-and-butter running game, too. After averaging 188 yards a game on the ground in 2012 to rank 39th in the nation, Florida fell to 87th last season with an average of 145.8 yards rushing.

Head coach Will Muschamp won't change his run-heavy philosophy on offense, so the return of his two best tackles is welcome news. During SEC media days, Muschamp noted that Humphries was maintaining his weight at 295 pounds after playing last season at 285.

With Green standing 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds, offensive coordinator Kurt Roper has a pair of upperclassmen bookend tackles to rely upon on the field and off. Green, in particular, stood out to Roper as a team leader in the offseason.

"He's every day," Roper said. "He's really impressive to me."

Despite missing all of the 2013 season, Green has shown improvement according to his teammates.

"He’s physical, he’s gotten bigger, he’s gotten stronger," senior defensive tackle Darious Cummings said. "It doesn’t seem like he had a year off because it doesn’t feel like he missed a step."

Green and Humphries were 100 percent for spring practice and proved to be among Florida's standout performers. Now Florida is hoping the two will carry over their improvement, confidence and good health into the fall.

"That’s a big deal, man," Humphries said. "Me and Chaz being back, that’s good. When we’re on the field together, it works well. We're going to try and keep it up. If both of us stay healthy, we can make some things happen."

Defensive end Keisean Lucier-South planned to trim his considerable list of scholarship offers to a final five schools in early August, but just like he is on the field, the nation's No. 28 prospect was quick off the line, announcing his top five on Monday.

It didn't seem as if we'd ever get here, but in a couple of hours, the inside of the Wynfrey Hotel will be transformed into a circus. The arrival of SEC media days brings us ever closer to the start of the 2014 season. Remember, this is the first season in which we'll be seeing an actual playoff end the season. That right there might be too much to digest.

But before we dive into the nitty-gritty of the season, we're turning our attention to SEC media days. It's where you can have 1,000 media members all together -- along with a lobby jam-packed with ravenous fans (usually Alabama ones) -- crowding around kids and coaches.

It really is a beautiful thing, and here are 10 things to keep an eye on this week in Hoover:

1. Life without Marshall: Monday was supposed to be a chance for Auburn to truly introduce quarterback Nick Marshall to the world. Sure, we've all seen what he can do with a football in his hand, but this was where we were supposed to hear Auburn's quarterback talk about all he does with a football. After all, Marshall could be a Heisman Trophy candidate this fall. But after Marshall was cited for possession of a small amount of marijuana Friday, he's out for media days. Tight end C.J. Uzomah will take his place. Marshall should be here to own up to his mistake. He should be here to take responsibility, but he isn't. Now his coach and teammates have to do that.

Mike Ehrmann/Getty ImagesNick Saban and Alabama may be picked for the fourth time in five years to win the SEC.

2. Bama talk: For the first time since the 2011 SEC media days, Alabama did not arrive as the defending national champs. The Crimson Tide didn't even make it to the SEC title game. But that won't matter. Alabama still will steal the show. Everyone is here to see coach Nick Saban and ask questions about why Alabama couldn't get it done last season. We'll hear questions about the present and future for Alabama. And with so much talent returning, Alabama will likely be picked to win the SEC for the fourth time in five years.

3. Mason's debut: Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason is headed to the big leagues, but his first official stop as the man in charge of the Commodores is in Hoover. This ain't Stanford, and it definitely isn't the Pac-12. He'll meet a throng of media members inside a gigantic ballroom. He'll be bombarded with questions about replacing James Franklin, and we'll all wonder if he has what it takes to keep Vandy relevant. Will he wow us during his introductory news conference? Or will he take the businesslike approach and just try to get through such a long day?

4. Muschamp's hot seat: After a 4-8 season that saw an anemic offense and a loss to FCS foe Georgia Southern, Florida coach Will Muschamp is feeling the heat under his seat. While he has been very collected about the pressure he should be feeling, he knows that this is the most important season of his tenure. To be fair, Florida dealt with an unfair amount of important injuries, but that means nothing now. Muschamp has yet to take Florida back to the SEC title and is 0-3 against archrival Georgia. Muschamp knows he has to win, and he and his players will be grilled about it all day today.

5. Sumlin dealing with distractions: Johnny Manziel might be gone, but Texas A&M is still dealing with distractions away from the football. Before Kevin Sumlin could even get to media days, he had to dismiss two of his best defensive players in linebacker Darian Claiborne and defensive tackle Isaiah Golden, who were arrested on charges of aggravated robbery earlier this year. One of his quarterbacks -- Kenny Hill -- also was arrested in March on a public intoxication charge. Once again, Sumlin will have to talk about more than just football this week.

AP Photo/L.G. PattersonMissouri's Maty Mauk threw for 1,071 yards with 11 touchdowns and just two interceptions in place of the injured James Franklin.

6. Quarterback composure: A lot of talented quarterbacks left this league after last season, but we'll get our fill this week. Marshall might be absent, but we'll hear from Jeff Driskel, Dak Prescott, Dylan Thompson, Bo Wallace and Maty Mauk. All these guys could have big seasons and will be crucial to their respective teams' success. Can Florida's Driskel rebound after his early, season-ending injury? Is Thompson ready to replace Connor Shaw at South Carolina? Can Wallace of Ole Miss finally find some consistency? And can Prescott (Mississippi State) and Mauk (Missouri) prove their 2013 success wasn't just a flash in the pan?

7. Mauk's composure: Speaking of Missouri's quarterback, he's an incredibly interesting character to watch. He went 3-1 as a starter in place of the injured James Franklin last season, and has the right attitude and moxie that you want in a quarterback. Is he ready to be the guy full time? Is he ready to lead without a stud like Dorial Green-Beckham to throw to or Franklin to help him? A lot of veteran leadership is gone, so all eyes are on Mauk. He's also a very confident person who isn't afraid to speak his mind. Let's hope he's on his game.

8. Players and the playoff: This is the first season of the College Football Playoff, and we've received just about everyone's opinion on the matter. Well, almost. We haven't heard much from the people who might be playing in it. What do players think about it? Are there too many games now? Not enough? Do they care about the bowl experience? Do they even care about the playoff?

9. What do players think about getting paid? With the Power Five a real thing and autonomy becoming more of a reality, what do the players think about it all? What are their thoughts on the prospect of getting some sort of compensation from their schools? Are they getting enough now? How much is enough?

10. What will Spurrier say? Need I say more? We all want to know what Steve Spurrier will say. Will he take shots at Georgia or Saban? Will Dabo Swinney come up? Will another coach be a target? Who knows, and who cares? We just want him to deliver some patented Spurrier gold!

We continue our series looking at the most important game for each SEC team in 2014. These are the games that will have the biggest impact on the league race or hold special meaning for one of the teams involved. Today we take a look at Florida.

Most important game: Nov. 1 vs. Georgia

Key players: Georgia tailback Todd Gurley was the big difference-maker in last year's contest, a 23-20 win that was the Bulldogs' third in a row in this contentious border war. Gurley had 187 total yards and two touchdowns, doing most of his damage in a 17-0 first quarter before Florida's defense regained its composure. There were lots of scuffles and penalties in that game, so the Gators will need leaders such as quarterback Jeff Driskel, wide receiver Quinton Dunbar, linebacker Michael Taylor and safety Jabari Gorman to keep their focus between the white lines.

Off the field, Florida offensive coordinator Kurt Roper and Georgia defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt -- two newcomers to this game -- will engage in a fascinating chess match. Roper's new no-huddle spread offense won't be so new and mysterious by the eighth game of the season, so the Gators will likely have to beat Pruitt's attacking 3-4 defense in the trenches. If the UF offensive line can stay healthy, Roper will have a number of running backs with which to pound away. Sophomore Kelvin Taylor, who got his first career start in last year's Florida-Georgia game and ran for 76 yards, is the likely starter. Mack Brown and Matt Jones, whom the coaching staff expects to be back at full strength after he tore cartilage in his knee last season, are capable backups.

The quarterback matchup also poses an interesting contrast. Driskel is a dual-threat athlete, while Georgia senior Hutson Mason is more of a pocket passer. In his 15 career starts, Driskel has not shown much command of the passing game with a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 14-10. But Roper expects Driskel to be more efficient in his offense. And against Georgia, Driskel will be facing a secondary that has lost three starters in the offseason. Mason, on the other hand, gets to tangle with a Florida secondary that features stud sophomore Vernon Hargreaves III. But Mason has plenty of confidence going into his fifth season in Mark Richt's offense. He threw for 619 yards in starting Georgia's final two games last season after Aaron Murray was injured.

Why it matters: Speculating on head coach Will Muschamp’s future has become a cottage industry for Gator fans ever since Florida went 4-8 last season. Muschamp has never tasted victory in seven Florida-Georgia games -- four as a safety at Georgia from 1991-94 and the last three seasons as UF's head coach. Georgia's three-game winning streak has reignited a rivalry that Florida had dominated in recent years with 18 wins in 21 games since 1990. The Gators might play bigger, more significant games than this one in 2014, but no opponent has been circled by more Florida fans than Georgia. The same fans who are trying to guess how many wins Muschamp needs to keep his job are pinpointing Nov. 1 as one game day that will carry more weight than any other. Simply put, if Muschamp is ever going to win back Florida fans, he absolutely cannot allow UGA to stretch its streak to four. Oh, and did we mention that this game always seems to play a major role in determining the SEC East champion? That will hardly matter to UF in this game. The division race will be a distant subplot, as Florida is likely to be fueled by hatred for the Bulldogs and determination to prove that last season was an aberration.